


Golden

by YesIsAWorld



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Fables - Freeform, Friends to Lovers, Inspired by Midas and the Golden Touch (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), M/M, Mythology - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:13:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26291689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YesIsAWorld/pseuds/YesIsAWorld
Summary: Harry makes a costly wish.
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson
Comments: 16
Kudos: 69
Collections: Fine Line Fic Fest





	Golden

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to [runaway-train-works](http://runaway-train-works.tumblr.com/) for modding this great fest & to my #1 pal for handholding me through writing this fic, [Lauren](http://kingsofeverything.tumblr.com/) you're the best!

When Harry woke up, it was to a bright, cloudless morning. The birds were chirping, there was a faint spring breeze rustling the trees’ leaves, and there was… groaning. Coming from underneath his window. 

He sat up, squinted and rubbed the crusties from his eyes, and wrapped his fluffy purple robe around his body. He didn’t bother with brushing his teeth just yet; the groaning was too concerning. 

From his back porch, Harry looked over to his wild rose bushes. Amid the dirt and mulch, was a blond guy, curled up in the fetal position. The cold dewy grass was a shock to Harry’s feet as he hurried over to him. 

“Are you okay?”

The man groaned again, and slowly worked his eyes open. “Where am I?”

“In my rose garden.”

The man slowly moved so he was propped up on one elbow. “Why?”

“I don’t know, mate. Are you hurt?”

He turned his face to the sky and squinted, then turned back towards Harry. “I’m hungover as fuck.”

Harry laughed. “I’m about to make myself some coffee. You’re welcome to come in and join me.” Harry held out a hand and helped the man up. “I’m Harry.”

“Niall.”

It took a moment for Niall to stand, and then stand steady, so Harry put an arm around his waist and helped him into the house, finally depositing him on one of old, mismatched kitchen chairs. “Sorry.” Harry said. He wasn’t in the habit of letting anyone other than his best friend Louis into his house. Louis was just as poor as he was; with Louis there was no need to be ashamed of the thin carpeting, the peeling paint. “It creaks, but it should hold.”

“More comfortable than the rose bed,” Niall said with an easy laugh. 

“How’d you manage to get here anyway?” Harry asked, measuring out the water to get the coffee started. 

“Drunk as a skunk, I suppose. My boyfriend, Lewis, normally I can drink him under the table, but maybe last night got the best of me.”

Harry frowned as he added the coffee grinds. “Doesn’t sound like a great boyfriend if he wasn’t watching out for you.” Not that Harry had a boyfriend. The only one he’d really want would be Louis, but Louis deserved so much more than what Harry could provide. 

“Nah,” Niall said easily. “It’s not like that. He’s… well he’s special. I might’ve wandered away, but he wouldn’t actually let me get hurt.”

“If you say so,” Harry said. It was too early to make sense of Niall’s cryptic answers. Coffee. Coffee would help. 

###

Coffee didn’t help, not exactly. But it did wake Harry up enough that he was able to find Niall’s situation a whole lot funnier. They traded stories through breakfast, then through another pot of coffee, then lunch, then they moved outside and sat on the porch to bask in the sun. It wasn’t what Harry had planned to do with his day, but Louis was working a double so he really hadn’t planned on doing much but moping and rewatching some romcoms. 

“Want to walk me home?” Niall asked, as the sun started to set over the westernly hills. 

“Uh? Sure.” Harry wasn’t sure what made him say yes, he didn’t know how far away Niall lived and it was a bit of an odd question, but he felt settled with the decision, like it was the right thing to do, somehow. 

“It won’t take long.”

“Okay.” He didn’t need further convincing, but nonetheless Niall’s words further calmed him. 

###

It turned out that Niall lived… not far. Or, Harry wasn’t entirely sure. They had taken a few steps along a trail in the woods that abutted Harry’s backyard, and then they were somewhere else. They were at Niall’s house, which no longer felt very close at all to Harry’s house, even though it must have been less than a hundred yards. The pit of Harry’s stomach curled in anticipation; something akin to dread flooded his bloodstream as he realized he had no choice but to follow Niall, as his house wasn’t where it should be. 

But the feeling fizzled away when Niall put a firm hand on Harry’s elbow and said, a touch loudly in the quiet forest, “He is my invited guest.”

Quieter, to Harry, and not to the forest at large, Niall said, “Your house is right there, if you’d like to go back. I’d love to introduce you to Lewis, but I understand if you want to go.”

Harry didn’t want to go back, not yet. Niall had spoken a lot about Lewis during the day, and Harry did rather like the idea of meeting him. 

It was like Niall read his mind, and with a small smile, he led Harry a few more steps until they reached a small stone cabin next to babbling brook. It was odd, because Harry hadn’t seen it up ahead, didn’t notice it all until they were right in front of it, but it looked cute and inviting and smelled of his nan’s Sunday roasts. 

###

Lewis was just as warm and engaging as Niall, and Harry’s heart swelled seeing the small sliver of domestic bliss over the dinner that was waiting for them as they walked through the door. He wanted that, but in the meantime he was content to bask in the other couple’s joy. 

“You could have it, you know,” Lewis said, cryptically. “If you want it, you just have to be brave and ask for it.”

Harry cocked his head and stopped his next forkful of potatoes halfway to his mouth. “What?”

“I’ll make it even easier for you,” Lewis said, his eyes bright. “I want to thank you, for taking such good care of my Niall after imbibing a bit too much last night. And for making sure he got home safely.” Harry was quite sure that Lewis was giving him entirely too much credit, but Lewis continued on before he could disagree. “So I’ll grant you a wish, as a small token of my appreciation.” Lewis and Niall squeezed hands over a shared smile. 

“What?” Harry repeated. He wondered if the potatoes were laced with something. 

Niall laughed. “Of course not.”

Lewis snorted. “I’d never. Not without your permission. So what is it? True love? That’s what you desire?”

“It is… but…”

“But what?” Lewis prodded, kindly. 

“I don’t want to take the choice away from him.”

“Louis?” Niall winked. 

“Yeah, he’s… my everything. And sometimes, a lot of times, actually, I think that he feels the same way.” Harry’s swirling mixed emotions, and complex overthinking reared its ugly head. As they often did whenever he thought about Louis feeling the same. Because, there must be something stopping Louis from telling him. And even if it was fleeting on Louis’ part, Harry was sure that he wasn’t worthy of Louis. Louis was strong and passionate and brave and so he deserved everything—far more than Harry could give him. It was easy to shut those thoughts of inferiority down this time though, because of a large concern. “But, it doesn’t feel right, making it… magically… happen? Am I losing my mind? Is this a thing we’re actually talking about?” He heard himself laugh awkwardly. He still couldn’t quite grasp what was happening. 

“So if not love, is there something else?”

“Gold,” Harry snorted, as he shook his head. He thought of everything he could buy for Louis if he had the means: his very own fully stocked footie pitch, a whole footie team!, a steady stash of weed to keep him relaxed, endless plane tickets to travel the world, a brand new car with great gas mileage so he could visit his family more often, a bigger house for them to live in, the PS5 that he kept talking about, Louis wouldn’t even have to work if he didn’t want to, he could pursue his passion projects and come home from a hard day of work with a smile on his face. “Gold,” he repeated, this time with a sigh. “The ability to turn everything to gold with just a touch.” Harry gave the two a sad smile; that was a life Louis deserved.

“To gold,” Lewis said, raising his wine glass and the last sip left. 

Soon after, Harry excused himself. It was getting late, and he missed Louis, and although Niall and Lewis were joyous hosts, he didn’t want to overstay his welcome. They pointed the way through the forest, and after rounds of generous thank yous and goodbyes, he was on his way.

###

Harry woke up after the deepest sleep he could remember in a very long time. He curled back into his blanket, and rolled over, stuffing his face in Louis’ pillow. It was still warm. He must have crawled into bed with him at some point last night—Louis slept over often enough that Harry just kept his pillow in his bed at all times. And the kettle whistling from the kitchen meant he was still there. 

Harry smiled to himself. He had missed Louis the day before. As he got out of bed he remembered his strange dream, and hurried to the kitchen to share it with Louis before he forgot. 

“Pants, Harold!” Louis exclaimed, as though he hadn’t just been sharing a bed with Harry’s naked body. Louis was in threadbare trackies and one of Harry’s old tanks that was stretched from years of wear. A deep, desperate part of Harry wanted to bundle Louis up in his arms and cuddle him for the rest of the day. 

Instead, with a dramatic eye roll, Harry halfheartedly covered himself with a hand. “Lou. I just had the craziest dream.”

“Did you? You were sleeping like the dead.”

“I do feel surprisingly well rested,” Harry said before launching into the story of the stranger in the rose bushes and the forest. He left out the details about why he wanted to have all that gold; though they were best friends, and told each other everything, confessing his love—even in a dream—was something Harry wasn’t willing to risk.

“So weird,” Louis said as he put Harry’s tea down in front of him. 

“It was _so_ vivid too. I don’t know if I’ve—” Harry reached for his mug and gasped as it turned to gold in his hand. “...ever dreamt something so real,” he finished quietly. “Lou, what the actual fuck?”

Louis turned around, and dropped his mug when he noticed Harry. “Shit. Fuck.” They looked at the shattered pieces on the ground, at Louis’ wet pants, and Harry immediately jumped into action. He scrambled to the tile floor. “Lou, don’t move!” And picked up the biggest shard closest to him. Which immediately turned to gold in his hand. 

“What the fuck, Harry!” Louis screeched. 

“I don’t know! I don’t know!” Harry carefully picked up a few more pieces, and they all ended up the same, golden pieces glinting in his hand. “I can’t— It can’t be— There’s no way—” His mind whirled. How… How was it possible?

_Rich_ a quiet voice in the back of his mind said. He was going to be fucking rich. He could… Maybe Louis would… His heart raced at the possibilities. 

“Let me… Harry. Harry!” Harry looked up at Louis, who was as still as a statue in the middle of their kitchen. “I don’t understand. You should go outside,” he said quietly. “Let me clean this up. I’ll be out in a few minutes and we can… I don’t even fucking know.”

“Okay.” Yes. Louis always had a good plan. Harry stood, placed the golden pieces on the counter, then placed his palms flat as he tried to make sense of it. The counter turned golden too. Louis gasped. “Fuck.”

Harry retreated to his bedroom, and reached down for a pair of discarded sweats in his dirty clothes basket. They hardened at his touch. He dropped them with a thump. It was a good thing they didn’t have any close neighbors. He’d have to go out butt naked. 

###

By carefully maneuvering his elbows and butt, he was able to open the sliding door to the back porch. It was clear that he had made a terrible, rash decision. Or, that he was still sleeping. He really _really_ hoped that he was still sleeping. But until he woke for real, all he could do was try not to touch anything that was too important to him.

Breathing in the fresh air, Harry briefly wondered how much he could get by selling the things he had already turned to gold. He didn’t want to sell his favorite mug though, and with a sinking feeling he thought about Louis’ favorite mug shattered on the floor. And how would they even explain a pair of golden pants to a pawn shop. Harry didn’t even know where a pawn shop was. It should’ve been a gorgeous morning—birds chirping and a gentle breeze and it was warm without being humid—but Harry felt nothing but dread. 

Not even his gorgeous roses in full bloom could raise his mood. 

Without thinking he brought one up to nose for a sniff. It always made him feel better. Instead, with his eyes closed, his nose hit warm metal. Tears welled in his eyes, and in a fit of anger Harry attacked the plant, until it was mostly gold and it hurt as he lashed out. Then he pressed the balls of his hands into his eyes until colors swirled and danced under the pressure. He was so stupid for thinking that this would actually solve his problems. 

“Oh, Harry, what have you done?” Louis cried from the porch. “I love your roses. You love your roses. How could you have—” He must have noticed Harry’s state then, because he abruptly stopped his disbelief and his face fell as he walked towards Harry. “Haz…”

“I ruined everything. It was supposed to help. I thought we could…” Another terrible thought occurred to him. “Lou, how the fuck am I going to eat? I’m going to starve to death. Shit. This is the worst. Why would I—” The lump stuck in his throat dislodged and his tears finally fell. “I’m such an idiot.”

“Haz,” Louis said softly. “It’ll be okay. We can find them, right? This Lewis guy, he can probably reverse it, right? If we go and tell him you made a mistake? I’ll go with you. We’ll find a solution, I promise.”

Harry’s breath shuddered. “You think so?”

“I mean, I shouldn’t promise. I don’t really know how you got yourself into this mess, but we’ll figure it out.”

“Yeah, you don’t hate me? Lou, I’m so sorry about your mug. I’ll try to find a replacement, I swear.” He had to make it up to Louis. He had to find a way to make him smile again. 

“I don’t care about the stupid mug. I care about you. And making sure that you’re okay. That’s all I ever care about.” Louis took a step closer and Harry balled his hands into fists to keep from reaching out. “If nothing else I promise I won’t let you starve to death. Might have to hand feed you a steady diet of McDonalds, but I’ll do it if I need to.”

“Lou—” Harry was too overcome with love to be able to say anything else. 

Louis tentatively reached out his hand, and ever so slowly tucked a piece of Harry’s hair behind his ear. Harry looked into his dark blue eyes and swallowed thickly. Louis was so beautiful. And so kind. And a better friend than Harry deserved. Harry licked his bottom lip. Louis’ lips were so close all he’d have to do is reach out and— 

Louis’ eyes widened in panic, then froze, as he was coated in gold. 

###

Harry cried out; a wail that had the birds nearby taking flight. He couldn’t lose Louis. He couldn’t. 

Despite being starkers, he set out into the woods. His feet hurt as he ran over sticks and rocks, but the fear of having just accidentally killed the love of his life spurred him on faster. He had to find Lewis. There wasn’t another option.

Just as the reality set in that Harry legitimately didn’t know how to find their house again, the air around him seemed to almost shimmer for a second, then settle back down. And then there was the house, with it’s perfectly trimmed hedges and a family of bunnies froliking near the bay windows.

Harry walked up the front path and brought his hand up to knock, then thought better of it. He was about to shout when the door swung open to Niall leaning casually against the door frame. 

“Hey Harry!” 

“Don’t ‘Hey Harry’ me! Where’s Lewis? I need this undone. Immediately.”

Niall stepped aside and let Harry in. “Lewis, he’s back! And naked.”

“Took you longer than I thought,” Lewis said, appearing from around the kitchen corner, and then taking a long look at Harry’s dick.

“What the actual fuck, dude.” He covered himself again and swore that he was never going to sleep naked ever again. “I didn’t think that was real… you… you ruined my fucking life. Louis is… he’s…”

“Don’t tell me he didn’t reciprocate your feelings?” Niall said, looking confused.

“He’s golden! I turned him to gold!” Harry cried out. “You have to undo it.”

Lewis shrugged. “I thought it was a bad idea. But you’re the one who wanted it.”

“What the actual fuck,” Harry exploded. “Nobody would actually want this. I killed Louis.”

“They always overreact,” Niall said to Lewis.

“I know, right? So quick to change their minds.”

“Reverse it.” Harry was losing his patience. “Or, whatever you do. Now. I need Louis back.”

“You’re the only one that can reverse it,” Lewis said. 

Harry let out a heavy breath. “So I can go back to normal. And Louis, he can be saved?”

“You’ve just gotta wash in the river and your golden touch will be gone. As for Louis, if you dunk him there too, he’ll no longer be golden.”

“Great.” Harry said with a tight smile. He didn’t fancy a splash in a magical river, but he supposed he had to do what they said. “Now if you can just tell me where the river is, I’ll be on my way.”

Niall gave him an odd look. “It’s halfway between our houses. You walked past it to get here.”

Of course he did. He bid them adieu and he set off, wondering how he was going to drag Louis to the river.

###

The river was exactly where Niall said. Odd, since he hadn’t actually seen it before, and it was impossible to miss, since he had to cross it to get back to his house. And back to Louis.

He dipped his toe in, was relieved when it wasn’t ice cold, but rather like a warm bath, and continued walking, until it got deep enough that he was able to swim. Exiting, he thought back to Niall’s words, and to be on the safe side, waded back in and scrubbed his skin with the water, even though it felt like overkill. 

Harry didn’t feel any different, so be sure, he reached down and tentatively touched a rock, which, thankfully, remained a perfectly ordinary stone. It had been a weird fucking day. Before any more time passed, or the river disappeared, he hurried back to his yard. 

Louis was right where Harry had left him, his face stuck in fear. So Harry rushed over to hook his arms around Louis’ waist. Louis was lighter than Harry expected, but it was still a struggle to pull him to the river. Dripping with sweat, Harry didn’t relish getting back into the warm water, so when he stepped back in, he was surprised to find that the water had a slight chill to it. At that point he was surprised he was even surprised. With one last heft, he got Louis into the water, and swam him out to where it was deep enough that he could push Louis under. 

In the blink of an eye, Louis was sputtering and flailing. Harry laughed from relief and fell back into the water with a huge smile and splash. Louis was going to be okay. Harry treaded water, laughing as Louis turned his attention to him and dove towards him. 

“You’re okay. You’re alive. I didn’t kill you,” Harry kept repeating as Louis swam closer. 

“You dumb fuck,” Louis crowed, “you almost killed us! Why the hell would you ever—”

“I wasn’t really thinking, to be fair. But also I thought… I thought I could get you everything you deserve.” 

“What?”

“I…” It was now or never. “I love you, Lou. But, I know that I’ll never be able to give you the life you deserve, so I thought, I could, I don’t know, prove that I’m worthy of you, or whatever.”

Louis threw his head back and laughed.

Deep down, Harry had hoped that Louis might return the sentiment, but laughter wasn’t the worst. A bruise to his ego, for sure, but at least he wasn’t swimming away in disgust. 

“Haz, you absolute walnut,” Louis said once he gained his composure. “You did all of this when you could’ve just said something?” Louis swam closer, until Harry could see the flecks of color in his eyes and Louis’ five o’clock shadow. “We’re both idiots.” Louis gave him a soft smile and Harry’s insides turned to hot goo. “I love you too. Don’t need anything but you in my life.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Louis moved in for the kiss, slowly and surely. Harry held his breath, closed his eyes, and melted into Louis once their lips touched.

“Let’s go home,” Louis said, pulling away. Harry’s lips, and his whole body, tingled with anticipation. “Who knows what those creatures will do to us if we screw in their magic river.”

Hand in hand, they walked back to Harry’s, ready to conquer whatever else was thrown their way. 

**Author's Note:**

> Please do not post this fic or any of my other fics on any other websites. I'm not currently allowing translations either. Thank you for respecting my wishes.
> 
> [Here's a tumblr link if you enjoyed it, and want to reblog!](https://louandhazaf.tumblr.com/post/630883914259595264/golden-larry-3k-rated-g-harry-makes-a)  
> [Here's a twitter link if you enjoyed it, and want to retweet!](https://twitter.com/Lou_and_Haz_AF/status/1312075264470528003?s=20)


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